To think if teenage girls from a private school can afford plane tickets ...

[Morgansports]

.... To visit the orphanage in Africa that they have been fundraising for, then the orphanage would be better served by just receiving the money they spent on their tickets. Seriously, what actual use to the orphanage is a group of hair-flicking, ugg boot wearing blondes???

And the bit that made me laugh is that other parents at the school were asked to help fundraise for the girls' trip.

AIBU?

There is a distinction between trained volunteers and untrained volunteers. I have done voluntary work with people facing eviction because I am legally trained. If I was going to turn up to a youth work charity I would expect them to allocate me job that was most useful to them even if it was filing in the office or making the tea because I am not trained youth work.

Laqueen -"I think it's all too easy to tie yourself up in knots, riddled with angst about the ethical sub-text, and the hidden moral agendas of these volunteer programs...when all the people at the sharp end of the wedge just want is more hands on deck, and more people to help share the load."

The public sector and civil society organisations at the sharp end of the stick at placing and supporting children in families are not calling out for "more hands on deck" in the form of foreign teenagers to come on 2 week rotations. It is just not what they are asking for.

Exoticfruits.
Has anybody on this thread said volunteering is a bad thing?
You said "All volunteers are supervised and supported." but in the situation described by the OP, they are not trained. In fact they are not even volunteers, they are just going to see where the money they have raised is going, I am sorry but I think that is an incredible waste of money.

OK here is my UK based scenario which might help clarify why short- term untrained volunteers can be unsuitable to work with vulnerable people, despite good intentions. This is a real-life-I-was-there situation. (One of many, many like it)

Family A are happy and functional: 2 parents, 2 teenagers doing well in school, polite, helpful kids etc. etc.

One year they decide as a family that they are going to give up their Christmas day and go and work together at the local homeless soup kitchen.

The mother goes to meet with the coordinator and asks to put their names down.

She is told that this will not be possible.

Why? don't they need extra hands on deck- peeling the potatoes and washing up?

Of course they do- they are always short of hands but this particular project is for super vulnerable homeless women and Christmas is an extremely difficult time for them. They have nearly all had their children removed into the care system and their emotions are very close to the surface. On Christmas Day they need people around them who they trust, who can talk them down if they get desperate and who they can break down with should they need to.

It is not a good time for them to be seeing unfamiliar faces and also it is a time where the possibility of suicide, self harm and violence is high.

The mother is told that if she wants to help she can come weekly to used clothes drop off and take a pile of washing to take home and clean and fold.

The mother declines and is pretty cross. She asks if there is anywhere else the family can help out on Christmas Day, as this is what they want to do.

Volunteering is NOT bad. Sloppy volunteer placement IS bad. Gate keeping of vulnerable people despite volunteers good intentions IS sometimes necessary to protect everyone concerned. Access to project beneficiaries should not be give just because volunteers want it to be- and expertise is valuable and should be listened to!

My niece and nephew both had gap years in Africa. My nephew's life was turned around by his experience, and he has continued to support 3 families (with my sister's help) for 5 years. One of these boys is an orphan whom my nephew picked up off the street, and got him started with some schooling and care at the orphanage where he was volunteering.

I hate sponsorship things because they are so phoney, but I think teenagers of both sexes waste money on lots of more useless things than going to Africa, In fact, we all waste vast sums on all sorts of nonsense; if we gave away all the money we squander there would be no hunger.

I read in Harpers index that we could feed all of Africa on the money Americans spend on diet pills and aids.

"Laqueen -"I think it's all too easy to tie yourself up in knots, riddled with angst about the ethical sub-text, and the hidden moral agendas of these volunteer programs...when all the people at the sharp end of the wedge just want is more hands on deck, and more people to help share the load."

But that isn't what people at "the sharp end" want, is it?

In this!country many charities are crying out for volunteers, but I have never seen an appeal by an overseas charity for untrained volunteers with no particular skills who don't know the country, the people or the issues....

On the subject of charity-there is a thread in Site Stuff, this very moment which is raising money for British runaway children.

Rebecca MN gives a summary on page 9 of the thread as to how to get involved now as the survey has now closed.

The easiest is just to read some of the thread and post on it or to read info on the charity. Aviva donate £2 for each post or someone reading the links. It's that easy!

Mumsnet have already raised about £15,000!

PLEASE go on the thread and support these children.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/site_stuff/a1579249-Oh-go-on-please-talk-to-us-about-runaway-kids-Aviva-will-donate-2-to-the-charity-Railway-Children-for-every-post#35017894

(Sorry for the hijack but just wanted to promote this)

its just not going in is in Laqueen?

Give up. If the poster up thread who thought my attitude to volunteers was disturbing- this is a good example of why. you can explain to someone, show them the evidence - try different ways of illustrating a point based on skills and knowledge and they will still insist that it is their right to have access to project beneficiaries because they have decided that this is what should happen. Its frustrating on here but its much worse in RL.

Cant even be bothered to respond to that. Over and out y'all.

Smithson6 I agree with your frustration.

But if evidence from research done by the respected international bodies mentioned on this thread, who have years and years of experience on the ground, is not enough to sway posters then I'm afraid you don't stand a chance. Don't take it personally.

Thanks Quickie! I'm not really taking it personally I just find it really depressing s'all. Properly over and out this time!

I know Smithson has probably given up looking at this thread in frustration but if you haven't I feel your pain. Like I said in my original post (aeons ago) my father was heavily involved in a third world project and he said these schoolkids going out bursting with enthusiasm would be far better putting their fundraising skills to good use by fundraising to help charities set up sustainable projects that would, over time, allow people in a third world village to support themselves. That is far more use than parachuting in for a couple of weeks, doing a bit of cleaning and playing with babies, and buzzing off.

I meant to add 'yes, shaking a bucket outside Tesco might not be as developmental for the schoolkids as going out and digging in the dirt. But which is more important here?'

Smithson I do actually see what you are saying here & agree with you in a lot of respects.

Laqueen ... Except developing country governments and the orbanisations that work with them are NOT crying out for unskilled international volunteers. Oxfam. Save the Children. Cafod. Christian Aid. Water Aid. UNICEF. Medicins Sans Frontieres. Action Aid....none of them accept short term unskilled volunteers.

Evaluation of the recent UK government sponsored effort ain the official evaluation report for the pilot phase. Evidence of development impact from their work, conceded the report, was ?weak,? with only ?tenuous and insubstantial positive impacts? in many placements. There was ?considerable under-utilisation? of the young volunteers, leaving them ?frustrated and aimless,? with key problems being their ?lack of specific skills? and their ?lack of grit?. Some volunteers ended up on projects which taxpayers might not expect to be funding. One group in Tanzania found itself teaching street children to tap dance. According to another blogger, in El Salvador, sot sending young volunteers on 3-6 month placements concluded that the main beneficiaries of the programme were the volunteers themselves. "Evidence of development impact from their work, was week conceeded the official evaluation report for the pilot with only ?tenuous and insubstantial positive impacts? in many placements. There was ?considerable under-utilisation? of the young volunteers, leaving them ?frustrated and aimless,? with key problems being their ?lack of specific skills? and their ?lack of grit?.

I suspect I am wasting my time here.

Sorry folks ... Cut and paste failure there.

Evaluations of the recent UK government supported programme to send young volunteers on 3-6 month plAcements:

Evidence of development impact from their work, conceded the report, was ?weak,? with only ?tenuous and insubstantial positive impacts? in many placements. There was ?considerable under-utilisation? of the young volunteers, leaving them ?frustrated and aimless,? with key problems being their ?lack of specific skills? and their ?lack of grit?.

OK had one last idea in the shower of what the swishy blondes could do instead of traveling to the orphanage. They could do an investigative audio or video piece about these types of projects. They would be charged with researching and compiling a list of people to interview who work in international development (Himalaya's list would be a good place to start) they would have to persuade these people to be filmed/audio recorded.They would have to compile interview questions and travel to these organisations to do the recordings. They would have to learn how to process permissions and release forms. Then they would use some of the money saved by the air fares to pay an editor to help them compile their research into a high quality programme. This would then be made available on utube and their schools website for download so any other groups of teenagers who are thinking about investing in these schemes can make an informed decision through watching a programme made by their peers. Like i said before, this subject is really relevant to this age group as the gap year thing is so common so I think it would be a great subject for encouraging critical thought and thorough research in older kids.

THEN, they fundraise for and set up the school exchange programme that Himalaya suggested and once they have met the kids they make another programme (together) about whether their ideas have grown or changed.

Laqueen- show us where overseas charities are crying out for unskilled volunteers.

Here you go, mumsnetters.

I've got to page 25 and you've got someone swayed by the arguments and the research!

My DCs are all of the gap year -ish age and have been looking, on and off, for projects they'd like to be involved in - DD 19 in particular. And DD 16s school run a sixth form trip every year to do some kind of community build project in a developing country.

I've always thought it could only be a good thing, but now I'm not so sure. I see how carefully the pros and cons have to be weighed.

But also, their school has been linked for many years for fundraising with a school in Uganda, and we see many reports back on the projects that have been enabled and the number of children who are able to now go to school, and get meals there, that I know there are real benefits in school involvement in this considered and long term way.